I CONTAIN MULTITUDES: THE MICROBES WITHIN US and a GRANDER VIEW of LIFE (audiobook) by Ed Yong

Published by HarperAudio in 2016.
Read by Charlie Anson.
Duration: 9 hours, 52 minutes.
Unabridged.

Ed Yong takes his readers (or, in my case, listener) into the tiny world of microbes in I Contain Multitudes. Traditionally, we think of microbes as tiny invaders that make us sick and, as I sit at home after yet another day of social distancing, it is easy to see it that way.

But, Yong takes us into a more complicated world. A world where microbes actually benefit their larger hosts - where microbes can help produce scents or colors for attracting a mate, help guts break down leaves or nuts and even help their hosts survive poisons. In many cases, these microbes and their hosts co-evolved and have become dependent on one another. They have created their own microbiome.

But, it's not that simple, either. Sometimes the microbes affect their host's behavior - and not in a good way. They can turn insects into virtual zombies, they can make mice hyperactive or depressed. They can even make mice suicidal (there is a microbe that resides in the guts of cats. It makes mice confuse the smell of cat with the smell of a mouse that is ready to mate. The mouse runs to the cat, gets eaten and the microbe is happily deposited in the gut of a cat. )

Yong's real message is that there are no good microbes or bad microbes. There are microbes that are good in some places and horrible in others. Your gut microbes, for example, are usually great, but if you have a leak in your gut, those microbes can kill you - and do it in a hurry.

Yong does explore relatively new ideas, such as the idea that gut microbes can change mental attitude, weight, cravings for certain types of food and more. It is true, but it is also true that it is certainly not as easy as it sounds. Some combinations of microbes work with some people with some foods in some situations. All of these combinations make it tricky.

Also, those probiotic yogurts that are so popular do nothing to help. It's not because they aren't helpful, but that you would have to eat A LOT of yogurt and keep doing it to actually change your gut biome.

I was intrigued by a discussion of the traditional concept of infection and how to avoid it. Turns out, if you use a medicine or a cleaner that kills all microbes, it can allow infection because the proper microbes aren't present to crowd out (or even kill) the microbes we consider dangerous. Also, if you want to build a strong immune system in your kids - get a dog.

This book was full of interesting information. At times, it was tremendously interesting. But, at two different times in the book, I seriously considered quitting the book. It has a slow start and a big lull about a third of the way through. For that reason, I am rating this audibook 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: I CONTAIN MULTITUDES: THE MICROBES WITHIN US and a GRANDER VIEW of LIFE (audiobook) by Ed Yong.